We were off at Dublin Comic Con promoting Dare to Dream and Exquisite Beast for the weekend. We had a fantastic time sharing our games with people, plus it was also pretty great to actually have a finished product to sell for the first time!

We were located up in the Game Developer Room, which meant we got to hang out with some awesome fellow creators for the weekend. Next to us were Fickle Games with their game Rampunctious, a game of terrible puns. In addition to inflicting tidal waves of puns on all passersby for the weekend, Fickle Games were also there to promote Celtic Cardboard, a new group formed to promote indie tabletop gaming companies in Ireland. They are definitely worth talking to if you are an aspiring analog game maker! (Full disclosure, we are also members of Celtic Cardboard)

We also befriended some developers of the digital variety. We had some great talks about tech with the guys from Newlove Games who were doing some live dev work for their sci-fi FPS on the convention floor. Just across from us were Funbakers with their Augmented Reality Victorian Detective game Silent Streets. I had already given Silent Streets a go at a previous event and have to say its style and writing are fantastic. I also finally got a chance to play Backworlds, a really interesting and surprisingly challenging puzzle platformer. I had seen Backworlds at some other events but had never managed to fight my way to their PC in order to play it. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a puzzle game with excellent style and puzzles that are far more about logic and using the tools at hand than they are about twitch reflexes.

But the most fun part of the convention was without a doubt taking Theodore, our mascot for Dare to Dream, around and letting him have fun with the cosplayers! These are just a few of our favourite shots, you can find more in our gallery!

Theodore, plus Sean, also got to meet Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman!

(Disclaimer: Kevin Conroy was aware that Theodore was being used to promote a project on Kickstarter before taking the photos and was fine with that; but he is in no way endorsing or affiliated with us or with Dare to Dream. Also, he is a really excellent guy in person and will talk to you in his Batman voice unprompted to get a laugh.)

Whether you are a Dreamer or The Darkness, there is one substance in Dare to Dream more precious than any other: Sand. This Sand is magical stuff and powers the abilities of both light and dark, slipping through the fingers of both sides in a never ending cycle.

(If you have come to this series of blogs late, it is probably worth heading back to our posts about Dare to Dream's Concept, Guardians, and Monsters first!)

At the start of a game of Dare to Dream, The Dreamers have all of the Sand. Many Guardians, Items, and Wards require Sand to be spent in order to activate their abilities. Many Actions also have a Sand cost, as indicated by the number in the diamond on the Action card. As the Dreamers spend their Sand to activate these abilities though, it flows to The Darkness.

As Sand flows to The Darkness it may be used to make many Monsters more dangerous, or to power powerful Darkness Actions. Many of The Darkness' weaker Actions can have their effects canceled, but only if the Dreamers are willing to let more of their precious Sand slip from their hands to The Darkness. The Darkness also possesses a few Actions which are much more expensive than the Dreamers Actions, but are also much more powerful.

Sand spent by The Darkness is neither lost forever nor returned to the Dreamers, but simply returned to the Sand Box, from which the Dreamers can hope to reclaim it and put it back to use again.

The Dreamers cannot hope to win without spending some Sand, but must be careful not to give The Darkness too much or they risk getting overwhelmed. The Darkness similarly must choose between trying to horde Sand for powerful Actions later, or use their Sand now for the chance at a quick victory.

We have all encountered the Monsters in the darkness. Seen that flitting shape out of the corner of our eye and the looming shadow that seems to creep across the room. Heard the eerie and unexplained noises that mark their passage in the midnight hours. Felt them watching, listening, waiting for that moment just as you fall asleep when you are most vulnerable.

The Monsters in Dare to Dream are the servants of The Darkness and act as its primary weapon against The Dreamers and their Guardians. A Monster that defeats a Guardian in combat goes on to wake that Guardian's Dreamer (and also score The Darkness player a point). Each Monster is specialized in its angle of attack; using either Shadow, Noise, or Dread as its weapon.

The blue Shadow Monsters tend to grow stronger and gain new abilities as the hours of the night get later. Yellow Noise Monsters startle The Dreamers, forcing them to either discard cards or face a more powerful foe. Dread Monsters feed on the fear of the Dreamers and become stronger as either the Dreamers run short on resources or when The Darkness has amassed many resources of its own. (We will talk more about the main resource in the game, Sand, next time).

A few Monsters are hybrids, drawing on multiple of these spheres for their angle of attack. This gives them powerful and unique angles of attack, but also makes them more vulnerable to powerful Guardians. When facing a hybrid Monster, The Dreamers get to choose which aspect their Guardians fight that Monster in.

Where The Dreamers care greatly for their Guardians; outfitting them with powerful Items, shielding them with potent Wards, consoling them in defeat, and preparing them to fight again; The Darkness shows little care for his Monsters. Their numbers are endless, making Monsters disposable, tossed away whether they succeed at their task or not.

You should check out these previous blog posts if you want to know more about Dare to Dreams Concept or Guardians!